The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-11-12
EDGAR ALLEN POE.
BY EDGAR MAGNEss.

In The Edrth for October 8, see some "professionaly clever comments" on Edgar Poe as poet by the author of "Books and Book Makers" He very feelingly spoke of those dispro- portioned criticisms of biographers, so unfortunate for him and which had long ago made Johnson say that he would prevent Boswell from writing his life by killing him. It is truly sad fact that the incidents of Poe's private life are still talked about by gossiping herd of literary aspirants, but it is even more a cause of regret to his friends to see that which is luminous in his character derided and what his intellect has done denied. l am glad that the German scholar, Meyster, has taken so bold position as to the genius of Poe. 1 know of no American critic who would dare give him such credit. That same prejudice and bitterness of feeling toward him which suffered his grave to lie so long unmarked in that old cemetery at Bal timdre is still with us and justice is hushed by the clamorings of popular sentiment. Thirty-six years is but short time to counteract the gossip of million mouths. There are none of our greatest writers but what have labored with the veerings of popular favor. For many years Shakespeare lay as thriftless playwright and drunken reprobate, and you often hear of Byron's royal voluptuousness, but it is always softened by the assurance that he was genius. America has never liked Poe because she has never known him, and it is not the Ameri- can who would spend his valuable time in trying to find out anything about the great men of his country. This country is yet much too pro- vincial in it's taste to appreciate poem that does not jingle with prac- tical hints. In it's first childishness it does not hear the song which soothcs and rests but only fierce cry which moves the restless column to a work which fills the whole of life. The as- siduous and almost exclusive worship of the money ideal by the American people together with the inspired spoutings of few twaddling syco- plants who possess a knowledge of him are the main contestants for the fame of a man whose life was sorrow tul and in whose death is denied nat ural if not deserving charity. But the assuring author of "Books and genius because he worked by method. Now to every thinking man this is fault impossible in a "great genius." All works of any merit arc ground out by process which is summarily called inspiration. It is kind of spiritualistic arrangement. The planchette is taken down, the pencil held in place assuringly and as the spirit whispers the "soul- stirring, ennobling, elevating inspiration" is traced. It has always been an accepted tenet with the multitude to credit in- spiration with everything a writer does, and it has been quite favorite experiment with authors to test the credulity of the public by giving strange and often marvellous accounts of how the great work was dashed of. l do not dispute the fact that there are natural gifts of intellect and that the perfect development of these in- tellects often seems to spring directly from its unborn source, but 1 must positively deny that there has never been great work created without plan or method. If all the poems could be built after the manner of "The One Hoss Shay" it is an undeni- able fact that they "would never wear out" But the reasoning of the author is this-that two men sit down to write poem, one throws off the work in ten minutes while the other by confining himself to "a dry and stiff and tyrannic rule" finishes in a twelve month. The poems are equally good, but the one man is genius the other is not. "Gray's Elegy" is not therefore worthy of study because it was written by slow and perhaps somewhat labored process. So unwise and fragrant theory could hardly be advanced. don't think the author" "could do the trick twice."
 Genius reckons it's work by the end attained not by its own peculiar means in reaching it, and in its most common meaning it is often reduced to little more than capacity for work directed by system. Hamlet bears the marks of forethought, and studied method and in every work of power there has been, and there must be principle-an idea we'll defined and understood, which collects and molds all its parts into the harmony of perfect symmetry. Poe is genius and against the well-put con- clusions of the author the unbiased in- tellects of the world speak out in his defense. Tennyson says: "I have | great admiration fnr Poe Ha is tho